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Louise Boni, chief inspector with the Black Forest crime squad, is struggling with her demons. Divorced at forty-two, she is haunted by the shadows of the past.
Dreading yet another a dreary winter weekend alone, she receives a call from the departmental chief which signals the strangest assignment of her career - to trail a Japanese monk wandering through the snowy wasteland to the east of Freiburg, dressed only in sandals and a cowl. She sets off reluctantly, and by the time she catches up with him, she discovers that he is injured, and fearfully fleeing some unknown evil. Her investigations uncover a hideous ring of child traffickers, and the repercussions of their crimes will change the course of her own life.
Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch
About the author
Oliver Bottini was born in 1965. Four of his novels, including ZEN AND THE ART OF MURDER and A SUMMER OF MURDER of the Black Forest Investigations have been awarded the Deutscher Krimipreis, Germany's most prestigious award for crime writing. In addition his novels have been awarded the Stuttgarter Krimipreis and the Berliner Krimipreis. He lives in Berlin. www.bottini.de.
Summary
Louise Boni, chief inspector with the Black Forest crime squad, is struggling with her demons. Divorced at forty-two, she is haunted by the shadows of the past.
Dreading yet another a dreary winter weekend alone, she receives a call from the departmental chief which signals the strangest assignment of her career - to trail a Japanese monk wandering through the snowy wasteland to the east of Freiburg, dressed only in sandals and a cowl. She sets off reluctantly, and by the time she catches up with him, she discovers that he is injured, and fearfully fleeing some unknown evil. Her investigations uncover a hideous ring of child traffickers, and the repercussions of their crimes will change the course of her own life.
Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch
Foreword
A case for Louise Boni - the first of the Black Forest Investigations
Additional text
Tension without brutality, local colour without small-minded sentimentality, good, intelligent reading with depth
Report
An exceptional crime novel. Kolja Mensing TAZ
